Car door opener and closer



June 30, 1953 s. WIMERRITT 2,643,855

CAR DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER Filed Nov. 16, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORGlenn W'Merrz'fi ATTORNEY G. w. MERRITT CAR DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER June30, 11953 2 She ets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 16, 1950 FIG. El-

ATTORNEY Patented June 30, 1953 UAR DOOR OPENER AND CLOSER Glenn W.Merritt, Bowerston, Ohio, assignor to The Nolan Company, Bowerston,Ohio, a. corporation of Ohio Application November, 16, 1950, Serial No.196,038

3 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved dooropening and closing device,the invention being concerned particularly with a device for opening andclosing sliding doors of the typeemployed on railway boxcars.

Boxcar doors are mounted commonly for sliding movement between positionsof doorway opening and closure. Often considerable difliculty isexperienced in operating these doors, as strains and stresses in thedoor frames, guides, and in the boxcar itself often cause the doors tobind and stick, a condition which presents severe mechanicaldifiiculties in obtaining the desired sliding movement on the part ofsaid doors. 1

It is an object of the present invention to provide a device capable ofbeing readily connected or associated with a car door so that the lattermay be quickly and easily operated by one man and moved between openedand closed positions.

It is another object of the invention to provide a boxcar opening andclosing device comscription and the prising a pulley block around whicha pawl-controlled operating chain is passed, the block being formed witha hook adapted for attachment to a door to be opened or closed, and thechain, in turn, being anchored at one end to a stationary part of theboxcar with the opposite end thereof free for manual operation, where-bywhen the chain is tightened from its free end, powerful forces, in aneffective and properly applied manner, are set up to actuate the door.

It is another object of the invention to provide the pulley block of acar door-opening and closing device with an improved safety hook adaptedfor attachment to an associated car door, the hook being turnable inrelation to the pulley block through an arc of approximately 180 degreesand yet is locked positively against such turning movement when in placeand before pulling forces are applied thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a car door opener andcloser of this character in which the pulley block is formed with achamber having mounted therein a chain-engaging pawl, the walls of thechamber serving to enclose and protect the pawl, whereby to eliminateany interference in the operation of the pawl through its engagementwith the adjoining sides of plain or corrugated boxcar doors.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a car dooropener and closer which is of relatively light and compact constructionso that it may be .easily' :carried, conveniently app-lied withexpedition and facility, and which will open a door from completelyclosed position so as to avoid all necessity for preliminary opening ofthe door before application of the opener thereto.

Still a further object is to provide an opener of the character statedby means of which relatively great power can be applied to a door foropening or closing thelatter, and to accomplish this end even when thedoors and their guides are in a poor mechanical state.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing detailed deaccompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a door opener and closer embodyingthe present invention, the same being partly broken away and shown incross section to' disclose underlying structure;

Fig. 2 is a detail fragmentary side elevational View of the adjoiningportions of the swiveled hook and pulley block extension of my improveddoor-opening and-closing device, the hook being shown in position inwhich turning movement thereof about its swiveled connection with theblock extension may be effected;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken ont-he lineIIIIII of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line IV-IV of Fig.1;

Fig.- 5 is a detail fragmentary perspective view.

disclosing the construction of the swiveled end of the movable pulleyblockhook;

Fig. 6 is a similar view disclosing the forwardly located pulley blockextension .to which the movable .hook is swiveled;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view, partly in side elevation, ofthe pawland sheave construction of my improved door-opening and closingdevice, with the pawl shown in its position providing for theapplication of pullingforces to the operating chain of the device;

Fig. -8 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line VIII-VIII ofFig. '7;

Fig. v9 is a side elevational view disclosing the application of thedevice to the sliding door of a boxcar.

My improved door opening and closing device comprises a pulley blockwhich includes a hous ing ll], having spacedside walls It. Between thesewalls, there is formed a pulley chamber H2, in which is rotatablymounted a chain pulley or sheave t3, the latter being supported forrotation in connection with an axlepin M carried by the side walls H andpassing transversely through the chamber l2. Alink chain it hasitsintermediate .portion trained around the grooved while the opposite endI! of the chain may be held by the hands for manual pulling.

Also formed between the side walls ll of the block housing 10 is a pawlchamber 2 I, the latter being in communication as at 22 with the pulleychamber l2. Positioned in the pawl chamber 2! for pivotal movement aboutan axis 23 is a pawl 26. On one side of the axis 23, the pawl isweighted as at 25, while the opposite end of the pawl engages with thelinks of the chain 15. The chain-engaging end of the pawl is disposedimmediately adjacent to a transverse web 26, forming a part of thehousing 10, the pawl serving automatically to hold the car-anchored endof the chain under tension when the ring I! is released, or pull on theouter end of the chain relaxed.

To connect the pulley housing with a car door, the housing, in thisinstance, is formed at one end, on its under side, with an extension 21,the opposite end thereof being formed with a stationary hook 28. Theextension 21 is provided with a bore 29 in which is mounted for rotationand limited longitudinal sliding movement the cylindrical shank 38 of aturntable hook 3!, the latter being adapted for attachment to a fixedbail-type handle 32 provided on the side of a conventional slidablymounted boxcar door 33. The turning movement allowed the hook 3!provides for convenience in applying or removing the hook relative tothe door bail 32 and, also, the quick and ready alignment of the pulleyblock, and the pulley carried thereby, with the chain i when the latteris tightened. One end of the shank 38 is provided with a retaining nut3011.

To close the opening of the bail-receiving jaw 34 of the hook 3! whenthe device is in use, so that the hook 3! will not become accidentallydisengaged from the door bail, the extension 2! includes a forwardlyprojecting foot 35 which terminates adjacent to the outer end 36 of thehook 3!, so that insuflicient space will exist in the jaw opening formedbetween the foot 35 and the outer end 36 of the hook to permit of thepassage of the door bail or handle therebetween.

When in this position, and to prevent rotation of the hook 3| about theaxis of its swiveled shank 3B, the inner end of said hook is formed witha'laterally directed semicircular flange 31, the latter being providedmidway between its ends with a notch 38, which is adapted to receive theupper end of a locking finger 39 integrally formed with and projectingupwardly from the foot 35. The finger 39 is of such width that when thehook 31 is forced inwardly, after release of chain tension, the shank 36slides in the bore 29 of the extension 21 in a direction toward thepulley block, and the flange 31 will be moved to a position to the rearof the finger in which it registers with a notch 40 formed in the foot35. With the flange 31 disposed in the vertical plane of the notch 40,the hook 3| may turn relative to the pulley housing or vice versathrough an arc of approximately 180 degrees. The extent of this are isdetermined by the employment of arcuately spaced shoulders 4| which areintegrally formed on opposite sides of a flange Ma. provided integrallyon the hook 31 contiguous to its inner end and immediately adjoining theflange 31 of said hook. With the flange 3'! positioned in the notch M3and the inner end of the hook in contact with the circular outer face 42of the extension 21, turning movement between the hook 3i and the pulleyblock will be limited by the engagement of one or the other of theshoulders 41 with a side of the foot 35 adjacent to the notch 46.

The operation of the device may be conveniently accomplished byconnecting one end of the link chain with a stationary part of anassociated boxcar, and the turnable hook 31 with the bail handle 32 ofthe sliding door of such a car. When the other end of the chain isinitially pulled by an operator, the pulley block slides on the shank ofthe hook 3i, so that the locking finger 39 of the housing foot entersthe notch 38 formed I in the flange 31 on the inner end of the hook 3!.

By so occupying the notch 38 of the flange 31, the locking finger 39prevents rotation of the hook 3! about the axis of the shank 33, and

, thereby maintains the outer end 36 of said hook 3! in the same planeas the foot extension 35 and the housing itself. By pulling on the freeend H of the chain 15, to tighten the same, the chain rides around thecircumference of the pulley or sheave l3, shortening the effectiveoverall length of the chain and imparting sliding movement to the cardoor, efiecting movement thereof to an open position.

In this pulling operation, tension is maintained at all times in thelength of the chain 15 located between the car-anchored end 16 thereofand the link or links engaged by the pawl 24, the operating or free endll of the chain being free except when manually pulled. The Web 26serves to allow the pawl, under the irregularities in the formation ofthe links of the chain IE, to limit rocking movement of the pawl inresponse to the action of the stresses thereon. Any tendency of thechain to lose its tautness between the block and the anchored end 16thereof is resisted by the pawl when the device is applied to a car doorand the chain actively tensioned. It will be observed that the sidewalls of the pawl chamber enclose the pawl or detent and prevent anyinterference with the operation of the pawl through engagement of thelatter with the sides of the car door, particularly when such sides arecomposed of corrugated sheeting.

I claim:

1. A car door opening and closing device comprising: a pulley blockincluding a housing formed at one end with a hook-carrying extensionhaving a bore, an attaching hook for said block, a shank formed with andprojecting longitudinally from the inner end of said hook, said shankbeing mounted for rotation and limited sliding movement in' the boreformed in said housing extension; a flange integrally formed with theshank-carrying end of said hook, said flange being providedintermediately thereof with a notch, and a rigid finger projectinglaterally from the forward end of said extension and engageable with thewalls of the flange defining said notch to restrain saidhook againstturning movement when said hook and pulley block are subjected tooppositely directed pulling forces.

2. A car door opening and closing device as defined in claim 1 andwherein the shank of the swiveled hook is provided at its outer end witha head-forming member, the latter being engageable with said extensionto limit outward sliding movement of said hook in response to pullingforces tending to separate said hook from said pulley block.

3. A pulling device comprising a pulley block having a housing; a pulleyrotatably mounted in said housing, said block being formed at one endthereof with an integral extension provided with a longitudinallyextending bore; a swiveled hook for said block; a shank projectingrigidly from the inner end of said hook for slidable and rotatablemovement in said bore; a first laterally projecting flange integrallyformed with said hook contiguous to the shank-carrying end thereof; afinger projection provided on the outer end of said hook extension, saidprojection being disposed for engagement with the walls of a notchprovided in said flange to restrain said hook against rotation relativeto said block when forces are applied to the block and said hook tendingto separate the same, said extension being formed with a recess disposedfor registry with the flange of said hook to admit of rotation of thelatter relative to the block when the hook and block are forced togetherthrough longitudinal sliding movement of said shank; a

GLENN W. MERRITT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,199,690 Gillan Sept. 26, 1916 1,253,183 Jones Jan. 8, 19181,591,362 Cofiing July 6, 1926 1,977,396 Merritt et a1. Oct. 16, 19342,377,324 Cofling June 5, 1945

